klinzboy Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Hi Folks, This is my first post on this great message board. I have a rather pleasant dilemma. I retired last summer and am hoping to become active in American civil war reenacting as a musician. I am fascinated with the concertina as an authentic period instrument but know nothing about the instrument. Could any of you provided information to help me get started and also, could you recommend a good beginner instrument? Kimble Klinzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Stout Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Start by looking at Dan Worrall's article on the history of the Anglo concertina in the United States on www.concertina.com. My own experience is with English concertinas, not anglos, so I have no useful first hand knowledge of good beginner instruments (I started on a Stagi then started accumulating vintage Wheatstones-- this instrument is habit forming). Lots of others will provide helpful suggestions. Welcome to the forums. There are a lot of helpful, friendly people here who know a lot about these instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 (edited) This is my first post on this great message board. I have a rather pleasant dilemma. I retired last summer and am hoping to become active in American civil war reenacting as a musician. I am fascinated with the concertina as an authentic period instrument but know nothing about the instrument. Could any of you provided information to help me get started and also, could you recommend a good beginner instrument? I don't know any more than I've read in Dan's fine history, but I can say I play Anglo in a civil war band that does reenactment dances at encampments, etc. , and nobody has complained. I have a square Herrington I don't play much anymore, but it somehow looks more authentic, although Dan says both square and hexagonal instruments were in use at the time. As for the best instrument: seach C.net, tons of information on the subject, with many, many opinions. Edited February 8, 2008 by Jim Besser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeezbxhvn Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Im a wandering confederate camp concertina musician.... I play a 30 button C/G anglo (Tedrow) I love it! I carry it in an old authenic looking dirty duffle bag. A 20 button would probably be more legitiment but I cheat with a "30" for more future growth & flexibility. Nobody seems to notice.. Fellow musicians can be hard to join with because they don`t like to play in "C". I often carry with me old vintage type photos of concertina players.. to prove authenticity of the civil war era instrument. I know Anglos were more common & less costly than English types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Just a quick note on a few more civil war era sightings in the US of anglos; I'll try to update my article in coming months with them. 1) I posted a photo of a two row German square concertina, taken at the Gettysburg battlefield museum, on this forum a few months ago. You could search on 'Gettysburg' to find it. 2) In addition to the CSS 'Alabama' sighting mentioned in my article, I now have another account of a dance on board one of the Union navy blackaders while at port, which featured a concertina amongst other instruments in a band...ca. 1863 or 1864; I don't have the files in front of me. 3) At a veterans rally/parade in Ohio in 1867, a fellow in the stands was loudly singing Grant war songs with his concertina as accompaniment. The press reporter derided his off-key, churlish singing...one way to know that it was an authentic sighting, as the press nearly always detested concertinas back then! Will update these, with specific details, in the future within the US anglos article. All indications are that it was present, but perhaps not particulary common...but then, infantry soldiers would not have been partial to anything larger than a fife, as they had to lug them on their backs. The brass bands were common, but officially organized, meaning that (I presume) the mules would carry the instruments for those. Cheers, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 ...I now have another account of a dance on board one of the Union navy blackaders while at port,... "blackaders"? Did you mean "blockaders", or "black aiders", or possibly even "Black Adders" (a branch of the family that emigrated or was "transported" to America?), or is this a real term that I need to add to my vocabulary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 ...I now have another account of a dance on board one of the Union navy blackaders while at port,... "blackaders"? Did you mean "blockaders", or "black aiders", or possibly even "Black Adders" (a branch of the family that emigrated or was "transported" to America?), or is this a real term that I need to add to my vocabulary? Blockaders is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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